This invention relates to the production of checks designed to be readily acceptable by retail merchants and those furnishing personal services.
In recent years, the use of cash to pay for retail goods and personal services has been greatly reduced in favor of credit cards and personal checks, due to the danger of cash loss through theft and robbery and the difficulty of accounting for cash expenditures. A sizeable percentage of the population, however, do not hold credit cards and do not have checking accounts. These people generally cash periodic payroll, social security, or welfare checks at a bank, and then hold the currency until it is spent. Loss of such currency through theft or robbery is prevalent. Banks find it a burden to cash the payroll, social security, and welfare checks of non-account holders because of the risk of forgery and the processing expense.
Personal identification is a problem to credit card holders and first negotiators of checks. Merchants commonly demand some form of identification from a credit card holder before he may use his credit card to make purchases. Often, a merchant will not cash any checks, regardless of the extent of personal identification the first negotiator may furnish, due to the danger of forgery or insufficient funds in the account. Thus, even those who hold credit cards and have checking accounts and often forced to carry cash in order to purchase goods and services.